Refrigeration unit for cooling and dispensing bottled beverages



July 3l, 1956 R. GALE 2,756,570

REFRIGERATION UNIT FOR COOLING AND DISFENSING BOTTLED BEVERAGES FiledMay 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 112 5@ 22 12 e2 M Z July 31, 1956 R, GALE2,756,570

REFRIGERATION UNIT FOR COOLING AND DISPENSING BoTT Es LED BEVERAG FiledMay 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l5 13 @4 13 l /ll/l REFRIGERATION UNIT FORCOOLING AND DISPENSING BOTTLED BEVERAGES Ronald Gale, Elgin, Ill.

Application May 21, 1952, Serial No. 289,136

6 Claims. (Cl. 62-141) The present invention relates to a novelrefrigerating unit for cooling bottled beverages and more particularlyto a novel means and manner of arranging and mounting the bottles in thecooling unit for most effectively cooling such beverages.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a novelrefrigerating unit in which the refrigerant coils of an evaporator unitare formed of extruded metal sections longitudinally cored to providespaced passages for the entry and return of the refrigerant through eachcoil and in series through a plurality of such coils.

The present invention further comprehends the provision of a novelcooling or evaporating unit formed of longitudinally extending coolingcoils so constructed and arranged in spaced relation for receiving thebottled beverages and in which the individual bottles being cooled kingpassage for the refrigerant and with longitudinally extending andoutwardly projecting cooling fins, said secnited States Patent O tionsbeing spaced apart an amount such that the neck of each bottle projectstherethrough and with the bottles suspended between adjacent sections bythe bead or collar on the bottle directly beneath the sealing cap.

ln the disclosed embodiment, the ends of these extruded sections stopshort of the end walls of the cabinet to permit the bottles to bereadily and easily inserted in upright position between the adjacentsections at one end thereof for supplying to or replenishing the stockof bottles in the cooling compartment of the cabinet, and permitting thecooled bottles to be readily and easily removed or dispensed at theother end of the cooling compartment upon opening the lid.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide anovel cooling or refrigerating unit for a cabinet for cooling anddispensing bottled beverages, the novel unit requiring no blower or aircirculating means for eifectively cooling the compartment or spacereceiving the bottles and by eliminating such blower or air circulatingmeans and associated parts greatly augments the space available forpre-cooling.

The present invention is further provided with novel means forpreventing the surreptitious removal of the caps of the bottles andwithdrawal of the contents while the bottles are mounted between thecooling coils. Such means comprises spaced overhanging and inturnedflanges on the adjacent coils which partially and closely overlie thetop of the caps whereby to prevent the lifting and removal of the capsby an opener or other tool, but permitting the operator or attendant tomove the bottles longitudinally.

Another important feature of the present invention is the novelarrangement of the cooling coils in a depressed position in a cabinetsuch that the lid of the cabinet may Yrice be retained open for extendedperiods of time without any appreciable loss in eiciency.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity,eiciency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such furtherobjects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear andare inherently possessed thereby.

ln the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a beverage dispensing cabinetequipped with the novel refrigeration unit, the service door forsupplying bottles to the unit and the pre-cooling space of the cabinetand the lid for removal of the cooled bottles being shown in openposition.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View in perspective showing the arrangement ofthe upper cooling compartment of the cabinet with the refrigeration unitremoved, the cornpartment for the motor-compressor and condenser unit,and the compartment or space for pre-cooling bottles of beverage.

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical cross section through the closed cabinetand lshowing the bottles in the bending channels, the view being takenin a plane represented by the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view in perspective of the coils'ofthe evaporator unit disassembled from the cabinet and showing the endsthereof opposite to those shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical cross section through one of the coils ofFig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings and to thenovel embodiment therein selected to illustrate the present invention,the novel refrigerating unit for cooling bottles orreceptacles 10containing various flavors or makes ofbeverages, consists of a pluralityof the cooling coils 11 collectively providing an evaporator unitmounted in spaced parallel relation in a suitable cabinet 12.

l The bottles or containers are arranged and held in upright relationbetween adjacent coils in a manner to permit exposure of the caps of,these bottles when the lid or cover of the cabinet is opened for accessto and removal of a bottle of a selected beverage. As disclosed in Figs.l, 3 and 4, the coils are spaced apart an amount suicient to providevending channels 13 therebetween adapted to receive the upper portion ofthe bottles 10 therebetween and suspend these bottles as shown in Fig.3, the bottles being inserted into these vending channels through aservice opening14 adjacent one end 15 of the coils with this openingadapted to be closed by an end door 16 or closure, and with the cooledbottles removed at the other end 17 of the coils which, like'the end 15,stop short of the end wall 18. These coils are held rigid by connectionto and suspended from the depending anged ends 19 of suitably spacedcross braces 20, the extreme ends of the cross braces being secured bybrackets or other attaching means 21 to the interior of the front andrear walls 22 of the cabinet 12.

The bottles 1@ in cooling lposition are suspended by the bead orshoulder 23 on the neck of the bottle directly beneath the caps A withthe lower edge of the bead or shoulder seating upon the adjacent andoppositely disposed and longitudinally extending edges or horizontalledges of the longitudinally extending flanges 24 at the top of eachcooling coil 11 of the evaporator unit. The bottles are slidable in thevending channels 13, with the cross braces 2t) being notched at 25between the depending flanged ends 19 to permit the bottles to be slidtherethrough and pushed along in suspended position between adjacentcooling coils 11 as other bottles at the discharge end of the vendingchannels are dispensed. Any number of these vending channels may beprovided depending upon the size and capacity of the cabinet em- 3-ployed and the number of flavors or brands of beverage to be dispensed,with those of the same flavor preferably arranged in the same channel tofacilitate access thereto and ready removal of a bottle'offa desiredflavor or brand.

The refrigerating system employed may be of any suitable type includinga motor-compressor and condensor unit shown generally at 26 mounted in acompartment 27 in the base of and insulated from the remainder of thecabinet l2 for circulating a suitable refrigerant through the system.rlhe refrigerant which is compressed in the compressor unit andcondensed to extract its heat in the condensor, passes through a-liquefying restrictor, such as an expansion valve 28, before it issupplied to the heat absorbing portion of the refrigeration system. Suchheat absorbing portion comprises the cooling coils El of the evaporatorunit disposed in upper portion of the cabinet.

These cooling coils lll of the evaporator unit are connected in themanner shown in Figs. 3 and 4, with the refrigerant entering the lowerpassageway 29 (Fig. 5) of an end coil at 3l, passing through this lowerpassageway and then through a U-shaped conduit 32 at the other end ofthis coil connecting this lower passageway 29 to the upper passageway 33of the same coil, then through this upper passageway and out through aninclined connecting conduit 3ft to the lower passageway 29 of anadjoining Coil l1, and then through the remaining coils in series orsequence. Upon leaving the last coil in the series the refrigerantenters the suction line 35 and is returned to the motor-compressor andcondensor unit 26 where the absorbed heat is removed and the refrigerantcompressed. This refrigeration system is operated in a closed andcontinuous cycle to absorb the heat in the upper cooling compartment 36of the cabinet 12 whereby to lower the temperature of the bottledbeverages and maintain them at a desired low.

As clearly disclosed in Figs, 3 to 5 inclusive, each coil is cored toprovide the lower and upper passageways 29 and 33, and is also providedwith longitudinally extending ns 37 and the top flanges 24 forincreasing the heat absorbing capacity of the evaporator or coolingcoils and with the flanges 24 providing a supporting means for carryingthe bottles in suspended position.

Although the novel refrigeration unit may be employed in any suitablecabinet and with or without vending ap paratus, the cabinet l2 ispreferably provided with a large pre-cooling compartment 38 in the basethereof for receiving and pre-cooling bottles prior to their beingreceived in the vending channels 13. The bottles llt) from thepre-cooling compartment 38 (Figs. l and 2) may be inserted into thevending channels t3 to replenish the supf ply of bottles thereat, orbottles may be directly inserted into the vending channels without priorcooling. The bottles entering the vending channels 13 are inserted fromadjacent the ends l of the cooling coils 11, these ends being spacedinwardly of the end wall 39 containing the service opening lid by theseries connecting conduits 34 which provide sufficient space to permitthe operator or vendor to quickly insert and align the necks of thebottles lt) with the adjacent end of the evaporator coils l1 and slidethe bottles singly into the position shown in Fig. 3.

To prevent the surreptitious opening of a cap A and the withdrawal ofthe contents of the bottle by a straw or the like without actuallyremoving the bottle as when the cooler is unattended, the coils lll areprovided with longitudinally extending upstanding and oppositelyprojecting flanges du that overlap or overhang the caps A an amountsufficient to prevent the removal of a cap by an opener or other tool.The space between the adjacent inturned ends of these flanges 40 is suchas to permit the operator or attendant to insert his finger therebetweenand move the bottles longitudinally of the coils from the point of entryto the discharge or dispensing end thereof, and to expose the printingon the cap to disclose the contents of the bottles.

Access to the bottles lll to be dispensed may be had by raising a coveror lid 41 and sliding out a bottle from between the end 17 of adjacentcoils 11 (Fig. 4), space being provided therefor by the U-shapedconduits 32 and with the adjacent end i7 of the coils stopping short ofthe adjacent end wall 1S of the cabinet. Adding bottles to the other endof the vending channels 13 moves the bottles within these channels alongthe top ilanges 24 toward the left end of the cabinet as viewed in Figs.l and 2.

The individual coils 11 connected in series to form thc evaporator orheat absorbing means are preferably constructed of extruded aluminumwith the lower and upper passageways 29 and 33 for carrying therefrigerant cored or extending longitudinally through the coils, andwith these passageways of the individual and adjoining coils connectedin series for most effectively cooling the cabinet and bottles ofbeverage inserted therein. By providing these coils with outwardlyprojecting and longitudinally extending fins or flanges 37, the top ones24 of which are adapted to support and suspend the bottles ll() in themanner shown in Fig. l, and the flanges 40 which prevent removal of thecaps A when located between the coils, quick and effective absorption ofthe heat is assured. The generated cool air circulates over the bottlesin the cabinet 36, the walls of which are heavily insulated at 42, andpre-cools the bottles in the pre-cooling compartment 38 without thenecessity of any fan or blower whereby all available space in thecabinet is effectively employed. This assures maximum capacity forbeverages and maximum storage space.

By arranging the cooling or refrigeration unit a substantial distancebelow the upper end of the cooler cabinet 12, the lid 41 thereof may beretained open for extended periods of time without appreciable loss inefficiency of the cooling unit.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

l. In a beverage cooling and dispensing cabinet, a refrigeration unitmounted in the cabinet for cooling and supporting bottled beverages ofthe type in which the bottle is provided with a bead on the neckthereof, said unit comprising laterally spaced and longitudinallyextending, depending coils having vertically spaced passagestherethrough for the 'flow of a refrigerant and laterally projectingfins about each passage, and longitudinally extending, opposed flangeson the adjacent coils providing horizontally disposed shoulders adjacentthe upper end of the coils and spaced apart to loosely receivetherebetween the neck of aligned bottles and with the bead on the neckonly of each bottle resting on these shoulders whereby to support thebottles between the adjacent coils, the fins of adjacent coilsprojecting into close proximity to the neck and sides of each bottledepending therebetween to effect rapid cooling of the bottles.

2. In a beverage cooling and dispensing cabinet, a refrigeration unitmounted in the cabinet for cooling and supporting bottled beverages inwhich the bottle is provided with an annular shoulder on the neckthereof, said unit including horizontally arranged cooling coils ofextruded aluminum sections having vertically spaced and longitudinallyextending passages for the flow of refrigerant therethrough and radiallyprojecting fins about each passage, these sections being arranged inlaterally spaced and aligned relation for receiving the upper ends ofthe bottles therebetween and depending for a substantial portion of thelength of these bottles for quick and effective cooling, andlongitudinally extending ilanges at the upper edge of adjacent sectionsspaced apart somewhat less than the maximum diameter of the shoulder onthe neck whereby the bottles inserted between the adjacent sections aresuspended therefrom by their annular shoulder.

3. In a refrigeration system for cabinets for cooling bottled beverageshaving a removable cap, a cooling unit comprising multiplelongitudinally extending extruded metal sections cored to providelongitudinal passages for `the refrigerant and said sections spacedapart for receiving the bottles therebetween, and opstanding anges onsaid sections overhanging the upper end of the bottles to preventsurreptitious opening of the bottles, said anges being spaced apart anamount suflicient to expose a portion only of the caps of the bottlesand permit the entry between said flanges of the fingers of an attendantto move the bottles longitudinally between adjacent sections, butinsuflcient to remove the bottles or their caps.

4. In a refrigerating unit adapted to be mounted in a cabinet forcooling and dispensing bottled beverages provided with a removable capfor access to the contents, a plurality of longitudinally extendingcooling members each provided with vertically spaced passagestherethrough for the transmission of a refrigerant, longitudinallyextending cooling ns on said members and longitudinally extendingshoulders thereon spaced apart to conformably receive and supportthereon the neck of each bottle and thereby suspend each bottle of a rowof bottles from its neck, the cooling tins of spaced cooling membersbeing disposed at the opposite sides of the row of bottles and extendedfor a substantial distance longitudinally of and in close proximity tothe bottles to eifect rapid cooling thereof, and longitudinallyextending spaced flanges projecting upwardly from the shoulders andadapted to' partially overlie the removable caps of the bottles toprevent surreptitious removal of the caps and access to the contents ofthe bottles.

5. In a refrigerating unit adapted to be mounted in a cabinet forcooling and dispensing bottled beverages having an annular bead on theneck of the bottle and a closure for the open end of the bottle, aplurality of longitudinally extending cooling members depending into thespace at the opposite sides of a row of bottles and each member providedwith passages therethrough for the transmission of a refrigerant,oppositely projecting longitudinally extending shoulders on each memberwith the shoulders of adjacent members spaced apart to conformablyreceive and support thereon the bead on the neck of each bottle andthereby retain each bottle suspended between adjacent cooling members,and spaced flanges on said shoulders projecting thereabove to partiallyoverlie the closure on the bottles to permit the attendant to engage andmove the bottles but prevent surreptitious opening of the closure ofeach bottle and removal of the contents thereof.

6. In a refrigeration system for a cabinet for cooling bottled beverageshaving a top dispensing opening and a closure for said opening, acooling unit comprising multiple longitudinally extending extruded metalsections spaced apart to receive and retain a row of said bottlessuspended therebetween with the bottles disposed in close proximity toadjacent sections to be cooled thereby, each section being provided withan upper and a lower longitudinal passage with the lower passagearranged above the major portion of the contents of the bottles and aconnection therebetween at one end for receiving and directing therefrigerant through one passage and then returning it through the other,means at the other end of said sections for connecting adjacent sectionsin series, and means for mounting said sections in the cabinet asubstantial distance below the opening whereby opening or retaining openthe closure for extended periods does not substantially affect theetliciency of the refrigeration system.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

